As an iPhone user, I’m still excited about Windows Phone

I’m an iPhone user, but I’m still pretty excited about Windows Mobile Phone.

And here’s why.

As a Microsoft Developer, it just makes sense for me to be. I’ve been involved with the development of a couple of simple apps/games for WM7, and the level of integration with developer tools that I already use is just so compelling. Microsoft really knows how to appeal to developers, and even though I’m not in love with XAML, the whole experience of writing apps using an IDE and a language that you already know is just so… easy.

Secondly, I really dislike Android. For many reasons, all of which are my own (and that I should really write about some time to back up a comment like that). However the thought that there’s an alternative to iOS that I don’t dislike so much is encouraging/cool.

So where I’m going with all of this is a post I came across recently. Like many, the post has a title designed to catch people’s interest, and it looks like it’s about the iPhone 5. However it’s not.

Why I won’t be buying the iPhone 5 is actually mostly about Windows Mobile Phone 8, and about the positive aspects of WM8’s tiles that “make the technology disappear”.

With the announcement of Windows Phone 8, Microsoft has all of its eggs in one basket. Their feature set matches that of competitors. They’re in a position to finally be able to influence the market for good, and I am gunning for them. It doesn’t matter anymore if all the major applications aren’t there yet. This phone is good enough to stand on its own, and because of that the applications will come.

Yep.

I want Windows Phone 8 to succeed, because Microsoft is the only one who truly understands that end users are real people.

That’s a big call. For a while I’ve believed that Microsoft is one of the few companies who has a good insight into what makes developers tick, but that quote takes it to another level.

I’m really looking forward to seeing where WM8 goes. As a fan of technology in general, it can simply be about the fact that I think that avoiding a duopoly is a good thing. As a fan of Microsoft it can be about that if it succeeds then I’m already up to date with the technology needed to build apps and get involved. As someone who dislikes Android, it can be about pure, immature dislike.

Tags: Microsoft, Windows Mobile

 Print | Posted on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 5:41 PM |